ARTICLE First records of ectoparasitic insects (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) of bats in the department of Caldas, Colombia Jorge Raigosa Álvarez¹⁴; Carolina García Osorio¹⁵; Analía Gladys Autino²⁶ & Lucimar Gomes Dias³ ¹ Universidad de Caldas (UCALDAS), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Programa de Biología. Manizales, Colombia. ² Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Programa de Investigaciones de Biodiversidad Argentina (PIDBA). San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2117-0378. E-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author) ³ Universidad de Caldas (UCALDAS), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Grupo de Investigación Bionat: Biodiversidad y Recursos Naturales. Manizales, Caldas, Colombia. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6480-7688. E-mail: [email protected] ⁴ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0853-8062. E-mail: [email protected] ⁵ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4950-6339. E-mail: [email protected] ⁶ Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina (PCMA), Cátedra de Vertebrados. Tucumán, Argentina. Abstract. In Colombia, the taxonomical understanding of ectoparasites (Diptera: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) of bats is scarce, despite the high diversity of hosts. This fact reflects the lack of important information on the group and poses the need for studies that expand the knowledge on bat ectoparasites in different regions of the country. The aim of this study was to contribute pioneer knowledge on bat ectoparasitic insects in the department of Caldas, located in the Central Andes Mountain range of Colombia. We assessed 318 bats from four eco parks in the city of Manizales, and collected 234 ectoparasitic insects. We provide the first report of the family Streblidae for Caldas, with seven genera and eight species: Anastrebla caudiferae Wenzel, 1976, Anatrichobius scorzai Wenzel, 1966, Exastinion oculatum Wenzel, 1976, Megistopoda proxima (Séguy‚ 1926), Paratrichobius longicrus Ribeiro, 1907, Paraeuctenodes similis Wenzel, 1976, Trichobius longipes Rudow, 1871, and Trichobius tiptoni Wenzel, 1976. In addition, we report the species Basilia ferrisi Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1931 and Basilia sp. for the family Nycteribiidae. Key-Words. Insects; Ectoparasites; Bats; Caldas. INTRODUCTION 2007; Autino et al., 2011), and Paraguay (Presley, 2004; Dick & Gettinger, 2005). In South America, In the last two decades, the study of bat ec- the most representative bat ectoparasitic insects toparasites has shown important advances in are Streblidae and Nycteribiidae (Wenzel, 1970; South America (Autino & Claps, 2000; Graciolli & Guerrero, 1993, 1994a, b, 1995a, b, 1996a, 1997; Carvalho, 2001; Presley, 2004; Graciolli et al., 2007; Autino & Claps, 2000; Dick & Gettinger, 2005; Dick, Dick et al., 2007; Autino et al., 2009, 2011, among 2006; Graciolli et al., 2007). Other insect groups others). that exclusively parasitize bats are Hemiptera Currently, seven orders and approximately (Polyctenidae and some species of Cimicidae) 6,000 species of mammal ectoparasitic insects and Siphonaptera (Ischnopsyllidae), as well as have been registered. Of these, four orders (with Hectopsylla (Rhynchopsyllus) pulex (Haller, 1880) approximately 687 species) have been reported (Tungidae), Craneopsylla m. minerva (Rothschild, as bat ectoparasites (Marshall, 1981). 1903) and C. m. wolffhuegeli (Rothschild, 1909) The South American countries with the (Stephanocircidae) (Autino & Claps, 2000; Lareschi most studies on ectoparasitic insects include et al., 2016). Argentina (Autino et al., 1999, 2009; Autino & In Colombia, three orders, five families, 21 Claps, 2000), Brazil (Graciolli & Carvalho, 2001; genera, and 85 bat ectoparasitic insect species are Santos et al., 2009; Graciolli et al., 2010; Almeida known to date (Bequaert, 1940; Guerrero, 1997; et al., 2011), Venezuela (Wenzel, 1976; Guerrero, Marinkelle & Grose, 1981; Tarquino-Carbonell 1994a, b, 1995a, b), Bolivia (Dick et al., 2007), Peru et al., 2015; Dick et al., 2016; Graciolli et al., 2016; (Guerrero, 1996b; Claps et al., 2005; Graciolli et al., Durán et al., 2017). The study by Bequaert (1940) Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206018 ISSN On-Line: 1807-0205 http://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.18 ISSN Printed: 0031-1049 http://www.revistas.usp.br/paz ISNI: 0000-0004-0384-1825 http://www.scielo.br/paz Edited by: Carlos José Einicker Lamas Received: 02/08/2019 Accepted: 21/02/2020 Published: 08/06/2020 Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206018 Raigosa-Álvarez, J. et al.: Ectoparasitic insects of bats in Caldas, Colombia 2/9 was the first effort to study bat ectoparasitic insects from diversity of bats in Colombia, this study aims to con- different localities of Colombia and Panamá. Later on, tribute to the understanding of ectoparasitic insects Marinkelle & Grose (1981) published an extensive list (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) and their hosts, includ- on Colombian bat ectoparasites of the orders Diptera, ing the first reports for the department of Caldas, by Hemiptera, and Siphonaptera. Recently, Tarquino- studying bats and their ectoparasites in eco parks in Carbonell et al. (2015) conducted a study on ectopara- the region. sites of chiropterofauna in the vereda Chorrillo, munic- ipality of Ambalema, Tolima. Meanwhile, Durán et al. (2017) made the first report of Streblidae for the depart- MATERIAL AND METHODS ment of Sucre. Other contributions include the cata- logues on Streblidae of the New World by Wenzel (1970) Study area and Guerrero (1997), which include the species found in Colombia; in addition to the studies by Dick et al., 2016 Sampling was done in four eco parks of the mu- and Graciolli et al., 2016 on Streblidae and Nycteribiidae nicipality of Manizales, department of Caldas (Fig. 1). species found in the country. Ecoparque Alcázares-Arenillo: located in the south- Despite the above, the information available for western region of the municipality of Manizales (05°04′N, Colombia is scarce in comparison to other countries. 75°32′W), it has an extension of 70.55 Ha, altitude ranging Furthermore, there are no detailed studies on the tax- between 1,730 m a.s.l. and 1,960 m a.s.l., and an average onomy and/or composition of ectoparasitic species in annual precipitation of 2,223 mm (Arango et al., 2007). several regions of the country. Considering the high This area is inhabited by species such as: Fraxinus chin- Figure 1. (A) Colombia, Caldas, Manizales. (B) Digital elevation model of Manizales, showing the eco parks network of the city: Alcazares-Arenillo, Los Yarumos, Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Caldas, El Recinto del Pensamiento. Raigosa-Álvarez, J. et al.: Ectoparasitic insects of bats in Caldas, Colombia Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206018 3/9 ensis Roxb, 1820, Cecropia peltata Linneo, 1758, Salix sp., served under a stereoscopic magnifying glass (Graciolli Dracaena draco (Linneo, 1767), Verbesina sp., Guadua & Carvalho, 2001). The specimens were deposited in angustifolia Kunth, 1822, Schefflera sp. (Forst & Forst, Eppendorf tubes with 70% alcohol and later photo- 1775), Eucalyptus sp. (Héritier, 1789), Cyathea sp., and graphed in the laboratory using a Leica MC170 camera Toxicodendron sp., as well as species of Piperaceae and coupled to a Leica M205 stereomicroscope. The ecto- Moraceae. An area of particular interest in this eco park parasites were identified using the taxonomic keys by contains pastures and gardens with ornamental plants, Guimarães (1946), Guimarães & D’Andretta (1956), Wenzel such as Musa paradisiaca Linneo, 1753, Solanum lycoper- et al. (1966), Wenzel (1970, 1976), Guerrero (1995a, b), sicum Linneo, 1753, Coffea arabica Linneo, 1753, Allium Autino et al. (1999), Graciolli & Carvalho (2001), and Dick cepa Linneo, 1753, and Phaseolus sp. (Arango et al., 2007). & Miller (2010), among others, and the identifications Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Caldas: Located were further confirmed by experts in the field. in southeast Manizales (05°04′N, 75°31′W), it has an ex- Finally, the ectoparasites insects were deposited in tension of 7 Ha, at 2,150 m a.s.l., with an average precip- the Colección Entomológica del Programa de Biología itation over 1,800 mm (Corpocaldas, 2002). It is forested at the Universidad de Caldas (CEBUC) and the CMLA predominantly with trees of the species Quercus hum- (Colección de Anexos de la Colección Mamíferos Lillo, boldtii Bonpl., 1805, Podocarpus oleifolius D. Don, 1824, de la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Eucalyptus sp., Dendropanax sp., and Cecropia sp. Other Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina). Each abundant plants include Monstera deliciosa Liebm, 1849 Streblidae and Nycteribiidae specimen was catalogued and Asplenium sp. Recinto del Pensamiento “Jaime by its corresponding number in the CMLA and deposited Restrepo Mejía”: A natural reserve in the Montane in the same collection. Region (IGAC, 1990), located in eastern Manizales in the industrial sector of Maltería (05°02′N, 75°26′W), it extends 176 Ha, all at 2,250 m a.s.l. The vegetation is Data analysis predominantly Podocarpus sp. and Alnus acuminata Kunth, 1817, Fraxinus chinensis, Guadua angustifolia, Parasitism was assessed by prevalence values (P), Piper sp. and species of Moraceae in primary reforesta- which indicate the proportion or number of infested tion. Ecoparque Los Yarumos: Located in northeastern host bats in a population compared to the total number Manizales (05°03′N, 75°28′W),